Chapter 25: Dissuasion

"They're all dead!?"

The plump Lali, looking at the scene before him, said with a look of disbelief.

At this moment, he was naturally no longer the prodigal son he had been in the tavern.

The luxurious, bright robe that wasn't convenient for movement had been changed into a tight-fitting combat suit that was equally bright in color but clearly more capable.

But perhaps because the purchase had been too hasty and didn't take his slightly excessive body type into account, it looked a bit too tight, as if he were wearing children's clothes.

"Buddy, did you do all this?"

Lali stared fixedly at Xia Nan, who was holding the sword handle with a vigilant expression in the clearing ahead, his tone still filled with thick disbelief.

And without waiting for Xia Nan to respond, he turned around like a passerby joining in the fun on the street, exposing his completely undefended back to Xia Nan.

"Doris, I told you, those few were just bandits."

"Adventurers should be like this!"

And somewhat unexpectedly, facing the tragic scene in the clearing, the golden-haired girl with a graceful figure, whose face had turned even paler.

But hearing the words of the fatty Lali, she actually nodded slightly in agreement.

Xia Nan even felt that the other party was vaguely excited?

"Friend, it's a misunderstanding, we have no hostility."

On the other side, the Half-Elf Haian had also initially figured out the situation, put away his longbow, and opened his five fingers in front of his chest, indicating that he didn't possess the ability to attack.

Xia Nan naturally wouldn't easily believe the promise of a stranger.

What's more, that man with a very low presence, whom he had regarded as a "suspected professional," was currently looking at him with vigilance beside the Half-Elf, without any sign of restraining his hostility.

So he didn't respond much, just gripped his longsword tightly and slowly retreated while facing the group.

Noticing his gaze, Haian couldn't help but be stunned, then seemed to realize something.

He turned around and scolded his guard "Wood" beside him with a serious tone:

"Wood, he is not our enemy!"

The Young Master, who usually spoke as softly as a mother, suddenly spoke in such a heavy tone.

No matter how unwilling Wood was in his heart, he still put away the two daggers in his hands, only muttering in his mouth:

"That's not necessarily true."

Seeing this, Xia Nan, who had already retreated to the edge of the clearing and opened a large distance from the few, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

The Mist Forest environment was complex; even for the most experienced adventurer, it was very easy to get lost if one just plunged in without a care.

The other party's performance didn't seem fake,

and the current him could retreat into the forest at any time, having a certain margin for error.

Perhaps he could listen to what this Half-Elf wanted to say?

At the same time, seeing Xia Nan stop, Haian also breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, across the entire clearing, he raised his voice to explain:

"Friend, first of all, I want to apologize to you."

"The day before yesterday, our squad had just entered the Mist Forest when we encountered an enemy ambush."

"Fortunately, our squad's strength was decent, and we didn't fall for it."

"In order to figure out the mastermind behind them, my teammates and I deliberately let two of them go."

"And then, it became like this……"

Haian glanced at the two corpses lying on the ground ahead and added another sentence:

"Friend, for accidentally involving you, I apologize to you on behalf of my teammates once again."

Xia Nan's gaze swept across the few people without a trace.

Grass clippings stuck to their hair due to high-speed movement, mud spots on the surface of their leather boots, and even bloodstains on their armor……

Combined with the performance of the duo just now, the other party's words actually had some credibility.

Thinking back now, the two people who rushed toward him just now did indeed have a desperate expression of fighting to the death.

So he was just treated as an accomplice of the Half-Elf?

Then he had indeed suffered an unprovoked disaster.

But……

That's it?

Performing so solemnly just to keep him here to listen to his apology?

Xia Nan's expression remained unchanged, but he felt exceptionally strange in his heart.

After pondering for a moment, he finally said his first sentence since the few appeared:

"So?"

At the same time, he already had ideas in his heart.

Perhaps, he had encountered the more friendly type among adventurers?

After all, if the other party were truly in cahoots with the duo just now and wanted to deal with him, there was no need to do it in two batches like this.

Sending all six together, or even just sending that guard with a very low presence, he wouldn't have been able to handle it.

There was no need to talk nonsense with him here at all.

So…… did they want him to hand over the spoils he had fished from the two people just now, or did they want him to make compensation for disrupting their plan to track down the mastermind?

Xia Nan guessed the development of the matter in his heart, but he didn't expect that after his "So?" came out, it was like pressing the mute button, and the entire field instantly became quiet.

"Yeah, so?" Haian opened his mouth, and for a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

Wood, who remained by his side like a shadow, could not help but twitch his mouth.

Although he had long been accustomed to the Young Master's personality, which inherited from the Matriarch and was as pure and good as a Paladin holding a "Oath of Devotion."

But when he truly encountered such a predicament, his face also appeared somewhat difficult to hold.

Fortunately, the silence didn't last long.

Looking at Xia Nan, who was holding an iron-grey two-handed longsword in front of him, the fatty Lali had a flash of inspiration and leaned in:

"Haian, didn't the new adventurer we recruited into the squad already die at the hands of those bandits?"

"Going back to Hegu Town to recruit again will take another whole day. Why don't we……"

"Young Master, please consider carefully!" Before the Half-Elf Haian could speak, the guard Wood on the side had already spoken to dissuade him.

"This person's background is unknown. Letting him into the squad is just adding a lot of risk for no reason."

As a "Rogue" who had already obtained a professional level and stepped onto the path of shadows and secrets.

Wood observed very carefully.

This black-haired youth seemed to be covered in blood and was exceptionally tragic, but observing his actions, he was afraid he didn't have a single scratch on his entire body.

The two corpses on the field were complete, with only the vital parts of their heads suffering heavy damage, and the cuts were smooth, clearly a fatal blow.

And with the speed at which they arrived after discovering the accident, the window of time left for the youth was no more than 6 or 7 seconds.

Being able to end the battle in such a concise and clean way in such a short time.

Even if the strength of the duo wasn't very outstanding and could only be considered ordinary adventurers.

This black-haired man holding an iron-grey decapitation longsword was far from as simple as his youthful appearance suggested.

Plus the two seemingly "coincidental" encounters in Hegu Town, it made Wood even more suspicious of him.

Under these circumstances, taking the initiative to invite the other party into the squad was undoubtedly burying a time bomb for himself and the others.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 26 =====